


Goodbye

by hallucigenia_sparsa



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Angst, F/F, Femslash, post-ME2, rated mature to be sure, some non-graphic sexual content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2015-01-05
Packaged: 2018-03-05 11:50:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3119099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hallucigenia_sparsa/pseuds/hallucigenia_sparsa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-me2. Shepard needs to turn herself in to the Alliance. Miranda cannot follow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Christmas present to inflictingfandom on tumblr! :)

Once Admiral Hackett leaves the _Normandy_ , Shepard walks back to the crew deck with heavy steps. Miranda is in her cabin, going through paperwork even though she no longer has to report to Cerberus. But that’s just one of many ways she and Shepard are alike; they both bury themselves in work to avoid dealing with their feelings or their loved one nearly dying alone on a distant planet.

Miranda looks up at the sound of the door opening and immediately puts down her datapad and crosses the floor in three fast steps. Shepard wraps her arms around the smaller woman and rests her forehead on her shoulder. For a moment they just stand holding each other and breathing in unison. Then Miranda, always the sensible one, takes a step back and immediately notices a long scrape on Shepard’s cheek. She reaches up to touch it, frowning.

“Sorry about that”, Shepard says with a lopsided grin. “It seems I’m always breaking your toys.”

Miranda huffs in annoyance and quickly checks Shepard’s body for further injuries with deft fingers, not because she doesn’t trust Dr. Chakwas’ work but because she wants the reassurance for herself.

Once satisfied that Shepard is, in fact, still in one piece, Miranda pulls her in for a scorching kiss that leaves them both breathless. Shepard’s hands go to the clasps of Miranda’s suit as Miranda walks them backwards to her bed, pulling Shepard down with her. Miranda likes to take charge in everything she does and Shepard is happy to let her.

“How much time do we have?” Miranda asks then between methodically undoing the buttons of Shepard’s shirt and leaving a trail of kisses on the exposed skin.

“Until morning”, Shepard sighs contentedly and brushes Miranda’s hair to the side to nip at her neck. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it”, Miranda says and pulls Shepard’s bra off her shoulders. Shepard pauses and sits back on her heels, because this is the question that has been hanging in the air between them ever since they returned from the Collector base.

Shepard needs to turn herself in to the Alliance. Miranda cannot follow, because if she did she would be dead before she saw the inside of her holding cell. Cerberus has operatives everywhere, a fact Miranda herself knows only too well. If they want to be together again, the Illusive Man must die, and right now Miranda is the only one who can hope to kill him.

“I don’t know”, Shepard says slowly. “A week, maybe two? Until we can drop everyone off where they want to go.” Shepard knows that they could just head for Omega and be done with it. From there, everyone, including Legion, would be able to arrange transport to pretty much anywhere in the galaxy. But this way she can be selfish and explain it away as just being loyal to her crew.

“A week”, Miranda repeats, then sighs. “I suppose it’ll have to do.” Then she smiles and playfully pushes Shepard on her back. “We’ll just have to make the most of it.”

 

A few hours later Shepard wakes up to an unfamiliar chill. She reaches out her hand in the darkness to find that the sheets next to her are cold and the only sign of Miranda is a small indentation on her pillow. Sitting up, Shepard notices a single datapad on Miranda’s bedside table, and that’s when she realises what Miranda has done. But Shepard couldn’t be angry with her if she tried, because this is just one more way the two of them are alike. Both are willing to endure heartbreak to protect the one they love. The few simple words on the screen only confirm what she already knows. Shepard hugs her knees as she reads them over and over, hoping against hope that her imperfect lover will be able to survive one more suicide mission.

_I’m sorry. What you don’t know can’t be used to hurt either of us._

_Don’t try to find me._

_Miranda_


End file.
